ARPA, Arkansas River Power Authority, and members of the Lamar Utility Board, are holding an executive session meeting, Tuesday, October 2, to discuss options in light of a Friday, September 28, 2012 ruling by U.S. District Judge, David Ebel regarding the Lamar Repowering Project. Lamar Light Plant Superintendent, Houssin Hourieh said the meeting was called in light of the Friday ruling that the plant had violated portions of the Clean Air Act since 2008. The plant allegedly failed to get the required federal clearance for being a potential “major source” polluter. The judge has ordered a trial to determine if, or what monetary penalties could be levied against ARPA and the Lamar Light Plant.

Hourieh said an arguing point for ARPA was that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment had ruled this past July that the light plant was a minor, not a major source of pollution as had been contended by the environmental group, WildEarth Guardians that brought a suit against the power plant for clean air violations two years ago. Judge Ebel ruled that the plant had failed to meet the requirements for regulating emissions from the Repowering Project.

This past spring, ARPA was unable to get a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by WEG in early 2011. The power group had claimed the suit was not viable as ARPA was working with the CDPHE to address the emission problems at the plant. The Repowering Project has been offline because of boiler problems regarding power output and the emissions level when the plant is running at full capacity. Since December before last, the power plant has been purchasing power from outside power sources while the boiler manufacturer has been working to correct the problems.

No date has been set yet by Judge Ebel to consider the size of the penalties that could be levied against the plant’s operators.